Humans have degraded 40% of Earth’s land – report

OUR current food production systems are the main culprits responsible for the severe land degradation we are seeing globally today.

This will place a massive strain on the planet’s ability to produce food for a growing population, which the UN projects will reach 8.5 billion people by 2030.

According to UN data derived from the Global Land Outlook II Report, human damage to the planet’s land is increasing, with up to 40% officially classified as degraded, and around half of the world’s inhabitants are living with the consequences.

The ability of the planet to sustain a growing population is being jeopardised by escalating environmental damage, the majority of which is produced by food production.

Worryingly, the report also found that women in poor nations are disproportionately affected as they frequently lack legal titles to land and might be evicted if conditions are difficult.

Land that has been degraded because of a lack of natural resources, soil fertility, water, biodiversity, trees, or native flora can be found all over the world. Many people associate degraded land with parched deserts, logged rainforests and urban development, but it also includes seemingly “green” areas that are intensively farmed or devoid of natural flora.

Food production on degraded land gets increasingly difficult when soils become exhausted and water resources are reduced. Degradation also contributes to the demise of plant and animal species, and by weakening the Earth's ability to absorb and store carbon, it can exacerbate the climate catastrophe.

Most human-caused damage has been caused by agricultural production, although items such as clothing have also played a significant role.

Much of the deterioration is obvious in developing nations, but overconsumption is rooted in the developed world, as seen by the rising consumption of meat, which consumes significantly more resources than cultivating vegetables, and fast fashion, worn for a short time then discarded.

The report states that the degradation will worsen unless immediate action is taken. An area the size of South America will be added to the toll by 2050 if current rates of harm continue.

“Land degradation is harming food, water, carbon, and biodiversity,” Ibrahim Thiaw, the executive secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, told The Guardian. “It is lowering GDP, harming people’s health, limiting access to safe drinking water and exacerbating drought.”